T-Pain is taking legal action against his former label, claiming he's still waiting on royalty money he says he earned from his music.
The singer has filed a lawsuit against Akon's record label over allegedly unpaid royalties tied to his catalog, turning years of public tension into a legal battle. T-Pain rose to prominence after signing with Akon's Konvict Muzik in the mid-2000s, launching a run that included hits such as "I'm Sprung," "I'm 'n Luv (Wit a Stripper)," and "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')." Now, he's alleging that money generated from his recordings wasn't properly paid to him.
T-Pain says that he has only received half of the total money he’s owed from a $1.3 million royalty payment to Konvict from a distributor earlier this year. He claims he is due $489,047.
This is the second time T-Pain has sued Konvict. The prior time was in 2018, when he claimed the label failed to pay the promised advance for his Oblivion album. That case was settled last year. It is that very settlement that T-Pain is claiming was violated in his new case.
His history with T-Pain isn't the first time Akon has faced a dispute involving allegedly unpaid money.
In 2022, former business partner Devyne Stephens sued Akon over payments stemming from an earlier settlement agreement. Stephens sought $750,000 he alleged remained unpaid from a multimillion-dollar agreement, as well as $3 million in royalties.
That dispute included a disagreement over Akon's record label status and whether Stephens was entitled to a percentage of his earnings.
